Wedding Cake: Should We Serve Wedding Cake and Dessert?

My mother insists that we serve dessert in addition to the wedding cake -- she believes the wedding cake should be sliced for guests to take home. I think dessert and cake is too much, so I was planning to have a tray of cake set on each table, with cake bags available if anyone wants to take some home. What's appropriate?

A:

There is no strict etiquette rule on this. Many couples choose to serve dessert in addition to wedding cake but this is in no way mandatory, and the trend today is definitely toward taste. Wedding cakes are not just for show anymore -- cake designers and couples fully expect it to be the primary dessert at the wedding. Traditionally, wedding guests take home slices of the groom's cake, but not everyone has a groom's cake (it's largely a Southern tradition). Your idea of putting cake trays on each table with the option of taking a slice home sounds perfectly appropriate.